This series will be like my https://logicsearcher.com/2022/12/01/my-curiosity-part-1-knowing-my-world-series/. I keep reading some random stuff, and I could not categorize them topic-wise, so why not organize them theme-wise?
Date: 27-12-2022 | Computer memory and our brain
I was reading about types of computer memory, and ironically, my jumping brain started wondering about the logical similarity between computer memory and human memory.
Computer memory is divided into registers (situated on the chip), cache (located near the chip or can be over primary memory, i.e., RAM) and main memory (RAM), and secondary memory (Hard Drive). As we move away from the chip (microprocessor), the average size of memory increases (register < cache < RAM < Hard-drive), the price drops (Hard-drive(cheapest) < RAM < cache < register (expensive)), the access time increases (registers (least access time) < cache < RAM < hard-drive (max access time)). The closest category carries a particular type of memory/data, and the farthest class has a specific type of memory/data. RAM loses data as soon as we switch-off power. Hard-drive can keep data even in a switched-off state.
Coming to the brain, don’t we have short-term, middle-term, long-term, and sub-conscious memory? We, too, carry particular categories of memories and specific types of data. Data/memory that was not so important, we have hard-time to recollect, whereas the memory which we have first-hand experience and which was essential to us remains fresh like anything. For example, I can remember quite a few moments of my life and put down even the smallest of their details, thanks to the experiential memory I hold about them. Still, there is a type of memory we cannot recollect on our will but can come into the picture in some scenarios. Our subconscious memory remains there even when we don’t notice it. The brain is an exciting thing.
Computers keep essential data that often comes into use in the cache, and we keep our loving, pain-full, scary memories in easy-to-access areas. That’s a bit ironic; even when we don’t want to remember our painful memories, they always remain in our minds, where they can be accessed fastest. The only way to push them behind is to paint those memories with newer memories, but this is the most challenging job for anyone.
I also read a bit about the mechanism to store these memories/data in the case of a Flash drive(USB drive). The data is derived into bits of 0s and 1s and stored in the form of charge on silicon-based transistors, which can remain intact even in the absence of power/electricity. I am not sure, but this is the same way our brain stores memory, maybe some gradient of NaCl. I am not going into details here since I am not an expert on any damn thing. 🙂
But there is a logic: I see much inspiration has been taken by computer science people from the human body, and this is not the last time I have quoted this line. You will see many more instances of this.
Date: 29-12-2022 | Without breaking data into numbers, a computer can’t work
When you think about working with a computer, you may feel that I am watching a movie, playing a game, or reading a book (Assuming you need to become more familiar with what I am talking about here ;). For computers, all this appears is playing with just numbers. Computers accept any data when you type, when you speak, when you use the webcam, convert that data into numbers and then process it.
So computers understand only numbers, and that too, Binary (The 0’s and 1’s). When a computer plays a movie, it converts 0s and 1s into pixel brightness that lights up and diminishes the computer screen to show you the movie you are trying to watch. When we press any key on the keyboard, that particular key is mapped to a specific number (ASCII Table). This mapping of the key to number encoding helps the computer interpret our language, like English words, symbols, and numbers like 1, 2, 3, 4, etc., into its binary language.
Now you may ask why a computer needs to use the boring binary language of 0s and 1s; why can’t it understand the same vocabulary? The short answer is that it is easy for a computer to understand binary since electricity that flows in digital circuits is a function of binary only. It will be no current or some current. Understand in this manner, for word creation; we have 26 letters a, b, c, d, etc. We can create words from them and then statements to convey what we mean, but Computers have two letters, 1 and 0, and computers use them in various manners to understand, process, and say what they mean.
Since it is clear what is the language of computer consists of, how this conversion from human-understandable language to computer language happens? Apart from binary, other number systems also have specific use cases in the computing world.
Decimal number system (Base 10): 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9
Binary number system (Base 2): 0,1
Octal number System (Base 8): 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7
Hexadecimal number system (Base 16): 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9, A, B, C, D, E, F
Understanding these conversions between various number systems is essential to visualize what a computer has to go through to do the conversion. One good resource to understand this better is: https://ncert.nic.in/textbook.php?kecs1=2-11